Wolverine’s Self-Healing Material Attracts Worldwide Interest

Hugh Jackman had been playing the role of X-Men's Wolverine for over a decade. His iconic steel 'claws' second only to his amazing regenerative powers. However, as most people note, Wolverine's self-healing only extend to movies: the actual, human version is far less impressive.

Wolverine's mutant abilities have intrigued researchers; however, as a team was able to come up with a form of self-healing material inspired from the favorite War Hero and with the final Wolverine film from Hugh Jackman, Logan, set to roll out in a couple of months, this new discovery is particularly timely. Developed by scientists at the University of California-Riverside and other institutions, this innovative material managed to capture the interest of scientists worldwide.

UC-Riverside assistant professor of chemistry and co-author of the study, Chao Wang, was quoted to have said that he has been receiving over 10 e-mails per day from researchers who want to know a little more about this discovery. While Wolverine's powers seem to have become innate, the self-healing material from the researchers was a "transparent, highly stretchable, and conductive piece," which can help control artificial muscles and even enhance the abilities of electronic devices. This allows the material to be able to control artificial muscles and even enhance robotic abilities -- allowing for them to be more human-like in their actions.

The material, however, can be applied in a range of fields. It can give the robots ability to self-heal after mechanical failure, extend the life of lithium ion batteries and even improve biosensors used in medical and environmental monitoring.

Canada Journal noted that this new technology can manage materials that rip and tear, extending their lifetime in the process. The soft, rubber-like material can stretch up to 50 times its actual length. It can reattach after being cut, and if stored at room temperature, it can last up to 24 hours.

Still, Timothy Morrissey and his team will have to run more tests on the material to see how much damage it could take -- if it could go head-to-head with Wolverine's amazing capabilities.